Student unrest in Jaffna following abductions

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 May 2007, 01:20 GMT]Fear and unrest spread across the student community in Jaffna following the abduction of four high school students by armed men Friday, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna parliamentarians and Jaffna Technical College (JTC) students made a public appeal Monday calling for the immediate release of the four high school students, sources in Jaffna said.

The parliamentarians said failure to free the students, and postponing the creation of an environment conducive to learning would result in mass protests and demonstrations by the public and student community.

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna, anticipating student agitation in reaction to the abduction, deployed troopers in large numbers in front of Jaffna schools, conducting checks and blocking outsiders entering the schools.

Recurring student abductions would lead to the closure of educational institutions, civil society sources warned.